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RG550L (1988–1992)
The RG550L is a solid body electric guitar model introduced by Ibanez in 1988. It was made in Japan by FujiGen as part of the Roadstar II series which evolved into the RG series. The RG550L features a basswood body bolted to a thin, flat Wizard maple neck with a 24-fret fingerboard with dot position markers. It has dual Ibanez humbucking pickups flanking an Ibanez single-coil, which are mounted to a black pickguard. Other components include a Floyd Rose-style double locking tremolo bridge and a locking nut. Prior to 1992 the bridge was the original Edge tremolo. In 1992, the new Lo-Pro Edge was used. The 1988 models have color-matching headstocks except for the white finish (which has a black headstock). The RG550 is a right-handed version. The RG570L is a similar model without the pickguard. The RG550L was discontinued after 1992. The somewhat similar RG470L was introduced in 1993. A new RG550L was introduced in 2018 as part of the Genesis collection. Specifications 1992: | matfb = 1988: Maple or rosewood (see below) 1989–1992: Maple | nj = Tilt Joint | neck = Wizard | scale = | nut = Top-Lok III | frets = 24 / jumbo | bridge = 1988–1991: Edge 1992: Lo-Pro Edge | hw = Black | pucon = HSH | puneck = Ibanez V1 | pumid = Ibanez S1 | pubridge = Ibanez V2 | control = | inlay = Dot | pg = Black | tuners = Gotoh SG38 non-locking }} Fretboard material In 1988, the RG550L with the black finish was offered with a choice of rosewood or maple fingerboard. These are distinguished with an "-R" or "-M" suffix in the model number. All other colors were offered only with maple fretboards. Starting in 1989 all RG550Ls had maple fingerboards. Rare/unusual finishes Both the Candy Apple and Purple Neon finishes are considered to be very rare to non-existent as they are almost never encountered on the secondary market. It's conceivable that the Candy Apple finish is confused by owners for one of the other shades of red (Five Alarm or Road Flare), or that the guitars were simply not produced in that finish despite its appearance in the catalog. There have only been a handful of RG550Ls spotted "in the wild" with the white finish. Note about serial numbers The RG550L was produced in Japan by FujiGen and as such they bear serial numbers that start with "F" followed by six numeric digits. The first of these numbers indicates the last digit of the year of manufacture. However, models produced through 1988 (and perhaps into 1989) have serial numbers starting with "F7" which would normally indicate production in 1987. It seems that FujiGen or Ibanez produced an oversupply of these "F7" serial number stickers and so just continued to use them through 1988. Any RG550L with a serial number starting in "F7" should be considered a 1988 (or perhaps even a 1989) model. Images Sources * 1989 Artist Spirit catalog (page 6) * 1989 USA catalog (pages 6–7) * 1990 Europe catalog (page 9) * 1990 Japan catalog (pages 10–11) * 1991 Europe catalog (pages 12–13) * 1991 USA catalog (page 25) * 1991 Japan catalog (pages 18–19) * 1992 Europe catalog (page 25) * 1992 USA catalog (pages 24) * '92 Spring Thanks Fair (Japan) poster (front) Category:Guitar models Category:Left-handed guitar models Category:Roadstar II models Category:RG models Category:HSH pickup configuration Category:New in 1988 Category:New finish in 1989 Category:1988 models Category:1989 models Category:New finish in 1990 Category:1990 models Category:New finish in 1991 Category:1991 models Category:Updated in 1992 Category:1992 models Category:Discontinued guitar models